ACEsConnection Member Christopher Anderson heads MaleSurvivor, an organization dedicated to helping boys and men overcome experiences of sexual trauma, abuse, and victimization in all forms.
Q. What do you do, and what does your organization do? What are you currently doing to address ACEs in your work or community?
A. I am the Executive Director of MaleSurvivor, an organization dedicated to helping boys and men overcome experiences of sexual trauma, abuse, and victimization in all forms. MaleSurvivor provides resources and services for male survivors, their partners, and the professionals from many fields who work with this community. For example, it conducts professional trainings and holds “Weekends of Recovery,” retreats for men in recovery from sexual abuse. We believe that childhood sexual abuse of boys is a particularly destructive ACE, and are honored to have Vincent Felitti, MD on our advisory board.
The ACEs Study has facilitated the building of partnerships among organizations that work to mitigate the consequences of violence and abuse. I use the ACE study research every time I give a presentation, often telling audiences what my ACE score is. It is the most compelling and strongest data on male sex abuse in childhood.
ACEs data puts male sexual victimization into the larger context of abuse, broadening male sexual abuse beyond a niche problem. In a broader context, the harm caused by male sex abuse is understood more widely.
Q. What personal or professional moment or event in your life inspired you to work on ACEs?
A. I joined MaleSurvivor in 2007 when I realized how the various forms of childhood trauma, including sexual abuse, I had experienced had profoundly impacted my life.
Q. When did you learn about ACEs (the ACE Study), and how did that change your work or life?
The first time I heard about ACEs was at the 2012 San Diego Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma (IVAT) conference where I met Dave Corwin, MD and Tasneem Ismailji, MD who serve on the board of Academy on Violence and Abuse. They shared with me their information on the ACE study and DVD with Dr. Felitti’s and Dr. Anda’s research and presentations and I remember watching it on the flight home in shock. Here, for the first time, was tremendous research that not only validated my own personal experiences, but that could significantly assist us in getting better support for male victims.
For the first time, the ACE study provides strong and compelling data, not just on prevalence, but how ACEs correlate with the undeniable and harmful impacts caused by ACEs later in life.
The ACE study puts male sexual abuse in a larger context and makes it possible to be more impactful in the broader arena of abuse. Having hard data is especially useful in our work dealing with male sexual abuse since some of the numbers can be fuzzy for a variety of reasons, including the reluctance of men to acknowledge and report abuse. By sharing a common vocabulary, it became possible to break down the silos among organizations.
It has been a priority for me and for MaleSurvivor to partner with other organizations such as the Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma, the National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence, National Coalition to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation, and the Academy on Violence and Abuse. By working with other organizations, the end result is more impactful than just tackling each type of ACE one at a time. It is also a positive sign that researchers staring to reference ACE study findings at professional conferences.
Q. How would you like to see trauma-informed practices shape your field?
A. We need to be both gender inclusive and gender specific. While there are similarities in the impact of sexual victimization, there may be profound differences in how to connect with men, women, boys and girls. There may be commonalities in the underlying work of healing, but different strategies are needed based on gender and age or developmental stage.
Our organization was founded in 1994 and for years did trauma-informed work, even though it was not identified as such. We knew part of recovery was for men to tell their stories in a respectful environment. One of the biggest obstacles to helping males overcome experiences of sexual victimization is that we currently do not really afford boys or men the space or safety needed to talk about their hurt. To do so, oftentimes makes you less of a man in the perception of many other people.
Q. What does resilience to early childhood adversity mean to you?
A. For me, there are a couple of things. I had a handful of individuals in childhood who were positive influences on my life. They were not involved in a sustained way but they showed me that there was an alternative to the chaotic world I lived in. They provided a glimpse into how at least part of the world works. I would see that where I was did not have to be where I remained.
At a very young age, I thought that there was a way out if I could only get to age 18. I made it in spite of incredibly difficult times when I suffered from extreme anxiety, depression and suicidal impulses, and many of those challenges persisted into adulthood, and I continue to battle against the echoes of that pain today. I think most survivors have to come to grips with the fact that even if we survive, the traumas we survive remain a part of us. The individuals who showed me life could be different definitely had a positive influence on me.
Q. If you encounter or deal with trauma often in your work, what coping skills do you rely on to stay happy and healthy?
A. If you don’t have hope, there is no way to keep moving forward. I know that my job is not to remove the burden caused by sexual victimization but to help show survivors a path to healing---to show that healing is possible. The emerging breakthroughs in neuroscience also give reason for optimism. I have a lot of hope.
Q. How do you hope to contribute to and gain from ACEs Connection?
A. ACEsConnection provides a way to share resources and give the public a broader view of the ACE study findings. I regularly repost articles from the daily digest email to our social media and share with other colleagues. It helps partnerships to be created and broadens the perspective on ACEs; rather than seeing male sexual victimization as a “niche,” it can be seen along with other ACEs in a broad context. ACEs don’t occur in a vacuum. When there is sexual violence, other ACEs are likely to be present.
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